PINEDALE, Wyo. -- Conservation groups are challenging the Trump administration's plans to allow 3,500 new gas wells in southwestern Wyoming.

Oil and gas companies welcomed the move to allow production on the Normally Pressured Lance Project, the 140,000-acre area south of Pinedale, but critics warn the expansion would block pronghorn access to critical winter ranges.

Linda Baker, executive director of the Upper Green River Alliance, said it's no surprise that when habitat is degraded and fragmented, wildlife populations suffer.

"Well, we've seen this before," she said. "The two other gas fields that are north of the NPL, we had a study on mule deer, and that showed a 39% decline over 12 years of study."

Gov. Mark Gordon did not include the ancient Path of the Pronghorn in his recent executive order on migration, in part to avoid disrupting natural-gas development already under construction. The first federally designated migration corridor for pronghorn connects Grand Teton National Park and winter range in the Upper Green River Basin.

Baker said the Sublette pronghorn herd already has declined by 40% in the last decade. Because pronghorn won't deviate from the ancient routes, Baker worries that energy production could result in the loss of Grand Teton's entire population of some 300 pronghorns. She said she believes the Bureau of Land Management should refocus its efforts on protecting all wildlife that rely on the sagebrush sea.

"Wildlife-based recreation is the second-biggest economic engine in the state of Wyoming," she said, "and it will thrive if we take care of the habitats that support it."

A petition recently filed by a coalition of conservation groups in a U.S. District Court in Casper argues that the BLM approved oil and gas development in the NPL without properly analyzing the potential harm to pronghorn and greater sage grouse from drill-site infrastructure. Conservation groups originally challenged the NPL project in April. Last summer, some of the claims were transferred to the federal court in Casper.

The petition is online at westernwatersheds.org.


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Hunters, landowners and wildlife managers are gathering in Montana to discuss the need for novel approaches to elk management.

The 2022 Elk Management Symposium takes place this Saturday. Kathy Hadley is a board member with Montana Wildlife Federation and participating in one of the event's panels.

She said the symposium is a chance to brainstorm about management policies and gather hunters like herself alongside landowners. Hadley broke down some of the major issues facing the state.

"In Montana, hunters want more elk and they want more hunting opportunities," said Hadley, "and the landowners want fewer elk in places where they're really causing some serious problems. And, of course, the outfitters want guarantees for all those services. So it's a pretty complex situation."

The symposium is taking place as Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks begins to design a new elk-management plan. Hadley is part of a panel called "Shared Elk and Shared Values."

The event starts at 10 a.m. and will be streamed online. It's hosted by the Montana Citizens Elk Management Coalition.

Hadley said in some ways the challenges the state faces now are similar to those it faced decades ago, with conflicts between different stakeholders.

In the 1990s, Gov. Marc Racicot convened a committee of hunters, landowners, outfitters and lawmakers.

Hadley said one of the ideas to come out of that was the Block Management program, which provides funds to landowners for impacts from hunters in exchange for opening up access to those lands.

"It has existed ever since then and people in Montana and non-residents who come here have six to seven million acres of private land to hunt," said Hadley, "and it all came from that committee of people sitting down and trying to come up with new ideas."

Hadley said block management and another program from the time - called Habitat Montana, which is used to purchase conservation easements - have been successful.

She said she hopes this symposium will spark another moment of innovative policymaking.

"If we can get Montana people neighbor to neighbor talking with each other about our wildlife shared resources," said Hadley, "maybe we'll be surprised with some new ideas from people we haven't heard from."

An insect species which can evoke childhood memories is in trouble, and has just been added to the Red List of Threatened Species compiled by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources.

The orange and black migratory monarch butterfly population has dropped 95% from the 1980s to 2020.

Rebecca Quiñonez-Piñón, chief monarch recovery strategist for the National Wildlife Federation, explained effects from climate change meant milkweed was not blooming during the monarch's migration last spring, preventing the butterflies from laying eggs.

She said milkweed is not as common as it used to be across the U.S.

"The main issue is the fact that we continue to lose native habitat," Quiñonez-Piñón emphasized. "So, the monarch struggles to survive and maintain a really good population size."

Pesticides sprayed on crops also can inadvertently kill milkweed growing in nearby ditches. Advocates are urging lawmakers to pass the Monarch Action, Recovery and Conservation of Habitat Act to establish a rescue fund and create a conservation strategy.

Quiñonez-Piñón pointed out people can help the imperiled species by buying plants from nurseries following best practices for pollinators and turn their yards and gardens into monarch habitat.

"We can provide the native milkweed," Quiñonez-Piñón stressed. "We can provide native nectar plants that can help the monarchs also to have a source of food while they are migrating."

She believes many people have an emotional connection to the iconic butterfly, citing reverence for the insect In Mexico, where their migratory arrival in winter coincides with the country's "Day of the Dead" festival.

"It's a great ambassador; it's in so many different places," Quiñonez-Piñón noted. "That also creates that connection between different communities and cultures."

Advocates say the Recovering America's Wildlife Act, passed by the House of Representatives but awaiting a vote in the Senate, would dedicate almost $1.4 billion dollars to help save multiple wildlife species at risk.

The Missouri Department of Conservation wants public input on changes to its plan to manage Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD), among white-tailed deer.

CWD is a fatal and contagious disease affecting members of the deer family, with no known treatment or cure. It was first detected in north central Missouri in 2010.

Jason Isabelle, cervid program manager for the Missouri Department of Conservation, said since then, it has spread to other parts of the state. He explained the plan calls for continued disease surveillance across the state, as well as making sure there are enough opportunities for hunters to get their deer samples tested.

"Deer are a cherished natural resource of the state and vital to the economy," Isabelle contended. "We have nearly half a million deer hunters in the state and lots of other folks that just enjoy the resource. So, there's a lot at stake here."

Other aspects of the plan include research, communication and management, including carcass transport
regulations, and giving hunters more opportunities to harvest deer. The public comment period on Missouri's plan runs through August 8.

Mike Leahy, director of wildlife, hunting and fishing policy for the National Wildlife Federation, said there is an important bill before Congress to use federal funds to tackle the issue. It has passed the House and is now before the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry.

"The CWD Research and Management Act provides funding for states and tribes to research and respond to the threat of CWD," Leahy outlined. "Addressing the transmission, and detection and suppression, of the disease as well as applied research into management practices."

He added it includes a rapid-response fund for controlling outbreaks as quickly as possible. Current research shows CWD does not pose a health risk to humans, although scientists still recommend against consuming meat from infected animals.